Tubeless valve assembly

ABSTRACT

A bicycle wheel comprises a rim and a valve assembly. The rim includes a radially inner wall having an inner opening and a radially outer wall having an outer opening. A first portion of the rim includes a first securing feature (e.g., inner threads). The valve assembly is positioned in the inner opening and outer opening and includes a second securing feature (e.g., outer threads) engaging the first securing feature. The rim can include a plate that defines the first engaging feature. The valve assembly preferably includes a valve stem and a resilient bumper coupled to the valve stem and aligned with a second portion of the rim. The valve assembly can further include a seal member compressed between the valve stem and the rim. Preferably, the seal member is positioned in an annular groove in an underside of an enlarged head of the valve stem.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to the field of bicycle wheelsand specifically to valve assemblies adapted primarily for use withtubeless tires.

Bicycle wheels commonly include an axle, a hub rotatable on the axle,spokes extending radially from the hub, a rim supported by the spokes,and a tire. Some wheels also include a pneumatic tube positioned insidethe tire to facilitate inflation of the tire, while other wheels are“tubeless.”

Tubeless wheels commonly include a hole in the rim and a valve assemblythat is inserted through the hole in a radially inward direction from aninterior of the rim (where the tire will be mounted) to an exterior ofthe rim (usually radially inward of the rim). The valve assemblytypically includes an enlarged resilient portion on its radially outerend designed to seal against the rim around the hole on the interior ofthe rim. The radially inner end of the valve assembly is threaded tofacilitate threading on a knurled nut, after the valve assembly ispositioned in the hole in the rim, to secure the valve assembly onto therim.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a bicycle wheel comprising an axle, a hubmounted for rotation on the axle, a rim mounted for rotation with thehub, and a valve assembly. The rim includes a radially inner wall havingan inner opening and a radially outer wall having an outer opening. Afirst portion of the rim (e.g., defining the inner opening or the outeropening, and preferably the outer opening) includes a first securingfeature. The valve assembly is positioned in the inner opening and outeropening, and the valve assembly includes a second securing featureengaging the first securing feature to releasably secure the valveassembly to the rim. Preferably, the first securing feature comprisesinner threads in the first portion of the rim, and the second securingfeature comprises outer threads on the valve assembly, the outer threadsbeing threaded into the inner threads. The rim can include a separateplate that defines the first engaging feature.

In one embodiment, the valve assembly includes a valve stem and aresilient bumper (e.g., an annular member) coupled to (e.g., wrappedaround) the valve stem. The resilient bumper is aligned with a secondportion of the rim defining either the inner opening or the outeropening (preferably the inner opening).

The valve assembly can further include a seal member compressed betweenthe valve stem and the rim (e.g., positioned substantially adjacent thefirst and second securing features). Preferably, the seal member ispositioned in an annular groove in an underside of an enlarged head ofthe valve stem.

Other aspects of the invention will become apparent by consideration ofthe detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a bicycle including wheels embodying theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a rim assembly from one of the wheelsshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the rim assemblyof FIG. 2 including a rim, a threaded insert, and a valve assembly.

FIG. 4 is a section view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 of a section view of an alternate embodiment with the threadedinsert removed.

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of an insert corresponding with asecond embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is bottom perspective view of the insert of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a valve body corresponding with thesecond embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it isto be understood that the invention is not limited in its application tothe details of construction and the arrangement of components set forthin the following description or illustrated in the following drawings.The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced orof being carried out in various ways.

FIG. 1 shows a bicycle 10 that includes a front wheel 12, a rear wheel14, and a frame 16. The front wheel 12 includes an axle 18, a hub 20rotationally supported on the axle 18, spokes 22 extending radially fromthe hub 20, a rim assembly 24 secured to the end of the spokes 22, and atire 26 supported on the rim assembly 24. The frame 16 has a head tube28, a front fork 30 rotationally supported by the head tube 28, a toptube 32 connected to and extending rearward from the head tube 28, and adown tube 34 connected to the head tube 28 below the top tube 32 andextending generally downward toward a bottom bracket (not shown) of theframe 16. A seat tube 36 extends upward from the bottom bracket and isconnected to the top tube 32, and a seat 38 is supported by the seattube 36. The bicycle also includes a handlebar 40 for turning the frontwheel 12 via the front fork 30.

FIGS. 2-4 illustrate the rim assembly 24 of the front wheel of FIG. 1,and the rear wheel has a substantially similar rim assembly. The rimassembly 24 includes a rim 42 and a valve assembly 44. The illustratedrim 42 includes a radially inner wall 46 engaging the spokes 22 and aradially outer wall 48 supporting the tire 26. The radially inner wall46 includes an inner opening 50 (FIG. 4) designed to receive the valveassembly 44, as described below in more detail. The radially outer wall48 including an aperture 54 defined by a recessed lip 56.

The outer wall 48 further includes a threaded insert 58 comprising athin plate 60 that is sized to rest on the recessed lip 56 in theaperture 54 such that an upper surface 62 of the threaded insert 58 isrecessed below the adjacent surface of the radially outer wall 48. Thethreaded insert 58 is preferably secured to the rest of the outer wall48, such as with adhesive or fasteners. The threaded insert 58 includesa first securing feature in the form of an outer opening 64 having innerthreads, the function of which is described below in more detail. In theillustrated embodiment, the threaded insert 58 is made of plastic,composite, or a metallic material, such as titanium, aluminum, or steel.Although the threaded insert 58 is shown as a separate part, it shouldbe understood that it could instead be formed integrally with the restof the outer wall, as described below in connection with the embodimentof FIG. 5.

The valve assembly 44 includes a valve stem 66 comprising a cylindricalbody 68 and a plunger valve 70 positioned in the cylindrical body 68, asis generally known in the art to facilitate one-way inflation of thetire. The valve stem 66 further includes an enlarged head 72 on aradially outer end of the cylindrical body 68. The valve stem 66 furtherincludes a second securing feature in the form of outer threads 74 on anexterior surface of the cylindrical body 68 adjacent the enlarged head72. The outer threads 74 are designed to thread into the outer opening64 to releasably secure the valve assembly 44 to the rim 42.

The illustrated valve assembly 44 further includes a seal member in theform of an O-ring 76 compressed between the valve stem 66 and the rim42. The O-ring 76 is positioned in a first annular groove 78 in theunderside of the enlarged head 72 of the valve stem 66. Alternatively,the first annular groove 78 can be omitted and the O-ring 76 can becompressed against a flat bottom of the head 72. The illustrated O-ring76 is made of a synthetic rubber such as Buna-N, natural rubber, orsilicone in the hardness range of 40-100 Shore A.

The illustrated valve assembly 44 further includes a second annulargroove 80 in an outer surface of the cylindrical body 68 and a resilientbumper 82 positioned in the second annular groove 80 to couple theresilient bumper 82 to the valve stem 66. As shown in FIG. 4, the secondannular groove 80 and resilient bumper 82 are aligned with the radiallyinner wall 46 of the rim 42 such that the resilient bumper 82 ispositioned in the inner opening 50, which provides a cushionedconnection between the valve stem 66 and the inner wall 46 of the rim42. This cushioned connection reduces audible rattling that might occuras a result of intermittent contact between the valve stem 66 and theinner wall 46 of the rim 42. Alternatively, the second annular groove 80can be omitted and the bumper 82 can be secured to a flat cylindricalouter surface of the cylindrical body 68. The bumper can held in placeon the cylindrical body 68 by placement in the second annular groove 80,by friction, bonding, co-molding, vulcanization, any combination ofthese, or any suitable technique. The illustrated bumper 82 is made of asoft plastic, synthetic rubber such as Buna N, natural rubber, orSilicon in the hardness range of 40-100 Shore A.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the present invention inwhich the threaded outer opening is formed integrally with the outerwall of the rim. Specifically, the threaded outer opening of thisembodiment is formed in an aluminum rim by a flow drilling process thatcreates an integral cylindrical chimney 90 that is subsequently tappedwith a thread rolling tap to create the threaded outer opening.Alternatively, the threaded outer opening can be formed by anyappropriate operation, such as by drilling a hole and securing a blindthreaded fastener like a rivet nut.

It should be understood that the first and second securing features canbe embodied in securing mechanisms other than a threaded attachment, Forexample, in an alternative embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 6-8, thefirst securing feature is provided by a quarter-turn, cam-typereceptacle 92 formed in an insert 94, and the second securing feature isprovided by a valve body incorporating a quarter-turn post 96 havingtabs 98. The tabs 98 fit into slots in the receptacle 92, and the post96 can be turned, resulting in sliding of the tabs 98 against camsurfaces on the underside of the receptacle 92 to releasably lock thevalve body into the insert 94.

Various features of the invention are set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a bicycle wheelcomprising: an axle; a hub mounted for rotation on the axle; a rimmounted for rotation with the hub, the rim including a radially innerwall having an inner opening and a radially outer wall having an outeropening, wherein a first portion of the rim, defining one of the inneropening or the outer opening, includes a first securing feature; and avalve assembly positioned in the inner opening and the outer opening,the valve assembly including a second securing feature engaging thefirst securing feature to releasably secure the valve assembly to therim.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a bicycle havingthe bicycle wheel.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the firstsecuring feature comprises inner threads in the first portion of therim, and wherein the second securing feature comprises outer threads onthe valve assembly, the outer threads being threaded into the innerthreads.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the valve assemblyincludes: a valve stem; and a resilient bumper coupled to the valve stemand aligned with a second portion of the rim defining an other one ofthe inner opening or the outer opening.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4,wherein the second portion of the rim defines the inner opening.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 4, wherein the resilient bumper comprises an annularmember wrapped around the valve stem.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the first securing feature comprises a quarter-turn receptacle,and wherein the second securing feature comprises a quarter-turn postadapted to fit in the quarter-turn receptacle.
 8. The apparatus of claim1, wherein the rim includes a plate defining the first securing feature.9. A bicycle rim assembly comprising: a rim including a radially innerwall having an inner opening and a radially outer wall having an outeropening, wherein a first portion of the rim defining one of the inneropening or the outer opening includes a first securing feature; and avalve assembly positioned in the inner opening and the outer opening,the valve assembly including a second securing feature engaging thefirst securing feature to releasably secure the valve assembly to therim.
 10. The bicycle rim assembly of claim 9, wherein the first portionof the rim defines the outer opening.
 11. The bicycle rim assembly ofclaim 9, wherein the first securing feature comprises inner threads inthe first portion of the rim, and wherein the second securing featurecomprises outer threads on the valve assembly, the outer threads beingthreaded into the inner threads.
 12. The bicycle rim assembly of claim9, wherein the valve assembly further includes: a valve stem; and aresilient bumper coupled to the valve stem and aligned with a secondportion of the rim defining an other one of the inner opening or theouter opening.
 13. The bicycle rim assembly of claim 12, wherein thesecond portion of the rim defines the inner opening.
 14. The bicycle rimassembly of claim 12, wherein the resilient bumper comprises an annularmember wrapped around the valve stem.
 15. The bicycle rim assembly ofclaim 9, wherein the first securing feature comprises a quarter-turnreceptacle, and wherein the second securing feature comprises aquarter-turn post adapted to fit in the quarter-turn receptacle.
 16. Thebicycle rim assembly of claim 9, wherein the rim includes a platedefining the first securing feature.
 17. A valve assembly adapted to bepositioned in an opening in a bicycle rim, the opening having a firstsecuring feature, the valve assembly comprising: a valve stem; and avalve positioned in the valve stem and movable between an open positionand a closed position the valve stem including a second securing featureadapted to releasably engage the first securing feature to releasablysecure the valve stem to the bicycle rim.
 18. The valve assembly ofclaim 17, wherein the first securing feature on the rim comprises innerthreads and wherein the second securing feature comprises outer threadson the valve stem, the outer threads being threadable into the innerthreads.
 19. The valve assembly of claim 17, wherein the first securingfeature on the rim comprises a quarter-turn receptacle and wherein thesecond securing feature comprises a quarter-turn post releasablyinsertable into the quarter-turn receptacle.
 20. The valve assembly ofclaim 17, further including: a resilient bumper coupled to the valvestem spaced from the second securing feature.